I look forward to your trip report when you return.

I will be in Craftsbury, VT (near Stowe) for a week and was looking into the Lake Champlain Islands for afterwards, but decided to go east to NH and Maine instead.

But I'd love to hear about your stay on North Hero and your impressions of the islands.

Try to go swimming in Silver Lake in Croton, it is on the Croton River and was always a nice respite.

Are you looking to spend some time in the Burlington area or really North Hero? Re: Stowe - depends what interests you...hiking? biking? restaurants? Stowe is FABULOUS - winter or summer. It is picturesque VT as you imagine it should be. I have spent a good amount of time there so if you let me know a bit about your interests, I am happy to help. I think you'll love it.

I just saw you will have a bikes with you? Cycling is HUGE in VT and around Stowe. Check out the Recreational Bike Path in Stowe - it's a nice little ride - my husband and I have done it twice...it's a little over 10 miles round trip so just a simple, pleasant ride - you can certainly do much more serious mountain biking in the area. But again - let me know a bit about your interests and I will try to help...also, for example, there's a great little Farmer's Market on Sundays if you'll be there on a Sunday...ok...I will stop there til I know your "likes" - thanks!

ok, we'll look for Silver Lake in Croton. I've also copied driving directions to favorite swimming holes near Stowe. We'll probably bike and kayak at North Hero. I like really good cheap restaurants. Blueberry pie. Fancy I don't like too much. We'll try to spend some time in Burlington and get to the Shelbourne Museum. The only rooms they had over the weekend at Shelburne Farms were too expensive, but now I'm thinking maybe starting our vacation a day sooner so we could stay there one night if cheaper rooms are available during the week.

Silver Lake is at the end of Truesdale Drive. You may need to have your friends with you, it may be residents only. Do you want things to do in the area as well?

Thanks for suggestions. Re things to do and our interests. I bike to work most days, so I like to bike, but I have an electric bike, so I'm lazy. This applies to swimming, so I'd like to jump in a swimming hole, but not swim to Cuba. Lazy kayaking is nice. We'll be in North Hero fri and sat, and in Stowe sun and mon, so we can see the farmers mkt. Recently, the lazy side seems to predominate.

The restaurant at North Hero House is good. Friends have also recommended the Blue Paddle Bistro in South Hero

My husband and I were at Shelburne Farms briefly last weekend for the first time in years. It is truly a gorgeous spot. I don't think the room rates are any lower mid-week than weekends from the summer through fall, though. One way to see the inn without paying for a room is to have breakfast there. You can also take a house and garden tea tour on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

The recreational bike path is an easy going ride. You can see it here - as mentioned only just over 10 miles round trip - people will be walking too. http://www.stowe-village.com/BikePath/bikepath_map.html If you like to stop at a great place that has an upscale deli counter (I hate to even call it a deli counter), fresh baked breads and other goodies, great coffee, wines, etc, check out Harvest Market. You can also see the Trapp Family Lodge on the map...it is actually the Von Trapp family from the Sound of Music - the views are absolutely spectacular!!! The lodge is wonderful - they have a bakery, lunch spot and about a year ago started brewing their own beer. It's great to stop in, grab a beer and sit out on the deck over looking the spectacular mountain views. If you are up for something different, go to Stowe Mountain and venture down the Alpine slide or take a ride on the gondola. You can also take a ride up and over what they call the Notch - it is a pass that takes you from Stowe over the mountain to Smuggler's Notch. If you are ever there in the fall it is an absolutely fantastic place to see the leaves...There are also lots of hiking trails up and around there. It is nice to just walk around the village of Stowe...great shops and stop in for homemade ice cream at IC Scoops - if you can imagine, they even have a maple bacon ice cream! Just a few thoughts for you! Have a wonderful trip.

Shelburne Farms is definitely worth a visit, and I suspect VTtraveler is right that the rates aren't going to change at that time of year. If you have a chance, it is also nice to take a stroll along Church St in Burlington, enjoy lunch or dinner at Leunigs, an American Bistro loved by locals - great food.

These are all great suggestions. I'm going to do everything. We've decided to drive most of the way from dc to Burlington on wednesday, stay thursday at Shelburne Farms (you're right, rates not cheaper), friday and saturday at North Hero, sunday and monday at Stowe, tuesday install DS#2 at school and return home, kid-less for the first time in 21 years.

We have begun the trip. Our plans changed again. Yesterday we drove from Bethesda to new haven to visit a friend of ds#2. traffic on new England throughway was terrible, but we arrived. Stayed at New Haven Hotel. Nice. Saw friend. We ate dinner at the istanbul cafe. Turkish. Very nice. Didn't get new haven pizza. Listened to blues at tobacco bar (owl shop) where everybody but us liked cigars. People at Yale look pretty smart. Breakfast at atticus book store. Today we are driving up to burliNgton vt. Rivers are very high. Good we have a kayak on top of the van just in case.

Now we're in Burlington. Last night we watched the sunset at the dock and had dinner at Leunigs. This morning, as soon as my lazy family gets up, we'll look for breakfast at magnolia cafe. Later, lake Champlain chocolates. Already, I,ve gone to the pool, fixed coffee, and gotten my bike repaired at 85 main street for free. They were very nice. Tonight we stay at shellburne farms. We'll go pretty early to look around, but I don't want to appear too anxious. I want to look like old money. I'm partway there.

Update?

Thanks 321. I didn't want to appear too anxious in my trip report either so I thought i'd hold off for a day or two. Old money. Shelburn Farms is Very Very Cool. Very wealthy people used to live here. Wealthy people stll live here. And then there's the three of us sharing a nice room. When you arrive the gatekeeper takes your name, checks it on a list and waves you up to the house. At the house staff comes out to the car to greet you by name and help with luggage. Oh, it would be so much fun to be rich. The library has beautiful leather chairs and old lamps and Persian rugs (actually I don't remember the rugs but Persian sounds right) and lots of leather bound books by Voltair. No air-conditioning, no tv, no pool. But a view from the back lawn over lake Champlain that's like being in italy looking out at lake como (i've never done that but i've seen pictures). Swimming in the lake. Lots and lots of bike trails. The Farm Barn like a castle in Normandy with cows kids can milk and roosters strutting around and sheep looking sheepish. We listened to a talk on raptors and watched a hawk eat two dead rats. We played billiards and sat on adirondack chairs looking at the lake for a long time. We had afternoon tea at 3:30 and dinner at 8:30. It was wonderful.

The shelburne museum is also very cool. Electra Webb was very rich and collected wonderful stuff and put most of it in shelburne. There's the Ticonderoga, an entire steamship. You walk on board and through the dining room and the pilot house and the engine room and the cabins. It's really fun. And a huge semicircular building housing a folk art circus parade. It's hard to believe there are things like that. And the locomotive and private train car the shellburne-Webb-vanderbilts used to bring their friends from the city to the country. And a house that replicates the three story new York city apartment these people lived in, with paintings by Monet and manet and cassat and other famous people. Such a fun museum.

So that was that. Yesterday we drove up to north hero, an island in lake Champlain, connected to the world by rt 2. We're staying at the north hero house in a room with a screen porch and a hammock that's right over the water. Last night it was windy and fun to listen to waves, tonight it's still and we'll sleep with the ac. Last night we walked on the ferry to plattsburg because the line for cars was too long and watched the sun set from the ferry. Today we biked some and drove to the sandy beach in Alburg and went swimming and kayaking and listened to French canadiens and walked on the beach. Tonight ds#2 and I went to a community dinner and dance which wasn't that much fun (wife complained of sore back from long bike ride at shelburne farm where I had got us lost) and then we all went to the hot tub and I went swimming in the lake which was really fun because it was night.

So, that's it. Tomorrow we go to Stowe. I forget what we are supposed to do there. But we're really having fun so far. Here are links for the inn and the museum.




http://shelburnemuseum.org/

http://www.shelburnefarms.org/comevisitus/inn.shtm

We are renting a house on the lake in West Addison this fall, so info ( and sense of humor) is appreciated.

I also bought three books yesterday at the north hero library for three dollars and got a plastic bag to carry them home on my bike, which was dangerous because fish kept on trying to eat the bag. This morning one last swim in lake Champlain and then we left for stowe, where we are at this very moment. At the green mt inn, which seems nice, if not particularly cozy. Pup, you'll be happy to hear i've just returned from riding most of the bike path. Wife got massage. Tomorrow we'll try it again and hopefully be able to swim in the creek. Maybe now we'll go to trapp family lodge. Or the rusty nail for ds#2 who needs some excitement after last night's dinner dance.

Glad you made the bike bath! It's a nicely done one. Easy for all levels to enjoy. Have a beer up at the Trapp Family Lodge - and enjoy the views!! If you have a chance to drive up and through the Notch, it's beautiful all year though I am sure you'll be able to imagine it's beauty in the fall. Enjoy your trip to a special place...IC Scoops to cool off, perhaps.

You'll appreciate my husband wants to ride up and over the Notch next year...thankfully, he's no novice!

oops...on his bike, that is...

Shelburne Farms sounds wonderful - especially sitting in the Adirondack chairs looking at the lake.

We took longer than expected leaving ds#2 at school tuesday and ran in to bad traffic and weather coming home so stopped for the night somewhere near Edison-Perth Amboy, and got home yesterday.

Thanks for all your suggestions. North Hero House was nice and the Inn at Shelburne Farms was wonderful. Lake Champlain chocolate (with caramel) is very tasty. We didn't get to Silver Lake or the Blue Paddle, and the alpine slide at Stowe closed because of rain, but we enjoyed the Notch (we saw a few crazy people biking up the hill), Bingham Falls (in the rain), a beer at the Trapp Family Lodge (not in the rain). We liked the Green Mountain Inn (nice hot tub and heated pool), bought stull at the general store (they let me come in with a cup of coffee), had lunch at Picasso Pizza (I biked home in the rain on the bike path) and dinner at Gracie's (a nice family-style, dog-theme restaurant about 4 miles out of town on 108).

We went to an Applebees (steak and baked potatoes) and Target (socks, lampshade) which were near our motel in Edison-Perth Amboy. What a great way to end the trip.

Thanks again fodorites!